This is the second time we’ve stayed at Luigans Spa Resort and for a short (2-4 nights) stay this is fine. If you’re after the absolute finest 5-star resort in Fukuoka and don’t settle for anything less than the very best, this is not the hotel for you. However, if you just want something nice out of the city and right next to what is probably one of the best parks for kids anywhere in the world, then the Luigans Spa Resort is a great choice.
Let’s get the negatives out the way first for the Luigans Spa Resort. The rooms are quite small, including the bathroom, shower, sink etc. I’d call them quaint, the beds are massive (two mattresses joined together) so I wouldn’t say the rooms are bad, (Grobbler and I love the rooms but we’re basically mini-me’s), but if you’re even a regular size honky, you might find the rooms a bit small.
One small negative about the Luigans Spa Resort is the wifi, or lack of it. If you’re lucky enough to get a signal, don’t expect fast download speeds. It’s patchy at best. Not really a problem for me because I just use data roaming on my phone, but if you’re one of those who has to be connected all the time, then the Luigans Spa Resort is going to frustrate you. Another annoying little thing about Luigans Spa Resort is the noise of the fan that you can’t turn off anytime, both in bathroom and in room by door. It’s not enough to keep you up at night but for light sleepers it might be rather more annoying. You have to close the bathroom door to muffle it and whilst not a major annoyance, I’d rather have done without it.
Lastly, and probably the worst thing about the Luigans Spa Resort, is the food. It’s quite expensive, not very nice and because of the location, there’s not much else nearby. For me, the location is a positive and one of the best things but you might consider it a negative. You have to drive about 10-15 minutes to get anything, which is not too bad, but a bit of a pain considering you have to do that for breakfast and dinner, and possibly lunch. And that’s if you have a rental car. We got given 4 x 2000 yen vouchers for dinner, which is quite a lot, but even with those, we chose to eat outside for 3 of the 4 nights. The first night we had something from the Japanese, which was pretty rank. After that, we either at ate at Yakiniku King, about 15 minutes away, or Aeon Mall, about 12 minutes away and that has a number of options including Yakiniku, Thai, Italian, a Food Court and Burger King if you have an urge for that.
Breakfast, which if not included in your room rate, was 2,500 yen for adults and 1,500 yen for kids. Not the most expensive, but for what you get given, not worth it. You get some sloppy scrambled eggs which even Grobbler didn’t like (first eggs he refused to egg at any hotel he’s been to) and there’s not really anything else to choose from if you’re a westerner and wanting some bacon n eggs type stuff. There’s no toast or butter, just some croissants, and jam, which taste ok, but won’t be enough for most people.
It’s pretty much 95% locals that stay at the Luigans Spa Resort so they don’t really cater to the western tastes. For breakfast, after the first day, we ended up driving to Family Shart (Grobblers name for Family Mart) and getting egg sandwiches and Rice Balls. If you’re out the previous night, buy them on the way back so you don’t need to go out in the morning. Again, it’s about a 10 minute drive. There’s actually a Family Shart closer in the opposite direction (turn left when you get out of the Hotel), not sure exactly what that has, probably the same same so you should be good.
If you don’t have a rental car then you’re going to be stuck with the hotel food for the duration of your stay, which I wouldn’t envy. Lastly, there is a small balcony but you can’t open the windows. The first time we stayed here we asked them to open it, which they did, but this time it was a no go. No big deal but in the summer it’d be nice to have some fresh air in the room. The Luigans Spa Resort is located about 30 minutes drive from Fukuoka City and right next to Uminominkochi Seaside Park, which is why we stay here. This park, which you can read about here, is probably the best park for kids we’ve been to anywhere in the word and the reason why we’ve been to Fukuoka three times and stay at this hotel.
It’s not the best hotel in the world, far from it, but the staff are nice and because it’s literally a 5 minute walk to Uminominkochi Seaside Park, and right next door to the Aquarium, it’s the ideal place for us to stay. You can hire bikes and there’s a large open lawn area good for any type of playing with kids so if you haven’t done enough exercise at the park, you can come back and keep going. The Luigans Spa Resort is right by the sea, don’t think you could go swimming in the beach but good for a play in the sand and searching for crabs and stuff like that. There’s a swimming pool at the resort but it’s about waste deep and has been closed both times we’ve been here.We got the room for quite cheap. It’s cheaper than most hotels of a similar standard probably because of the location, which is why most overseas tourists won’t be staying here. You will definitely need a rental car if you’re going to be staying here for more than a night as apart from the park, there’s nothing to do here.
If you live in Hong Kong and are in bad need of some open spaces, fresh air and politeness, then the Luigan’s Spa and Resort is one of the best hotels to stay in for a short stay.We stayed here 4 nights, 3 full days and that was a good time for us and enough to run Grobbler ragged. The park is the whole reason you go and if not for that, they’d be no reason to stay the Luigan’s, but it’s not a bad hotel and is perfectly fine for the vast majority of people. For more information about the Luigans Resort & Spa, send us an email or ask us on Twitter as usual. For more information Fukuoka check out our Fukuoka Destination Guide and read about going to Uminonakamichi Seaside Park here.
